Spark plug gap tool



July 24, 1962 J. E. FRAUENHoLTz 3,045,354

SPARK PLUG GAP TOOL Filed Jan. 50, 1959 FIG. l. 1FL-2 2o o/ /b o" jlas/- mpi Q/45 IN VENTOR John E. Frouenholfz United States Patent iice3,645,354 Patented July 24, 1962 3,045,354 SPARK PLUG GAP TOOL John E.Frauenholtz, 8406 Dersam St., Pittsburgh 21, Pa. Filed Jan. 30, 1959,Ser. No. 790,276 s Claims. (Cl. .a3- 168) This invention relates to aspark plug gap tool.

It is an object of the present invention to provide in one tool and inone operation the spreading of the gap of the spark plug and the gaugingthereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a spark plugtool in -which as the gap of the spark plug is spread a reading of theclearance of the gap can be taken, this being eected by inserting thetool in the gap and using little pressure.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a spark plu-g gaptool which will permit the spreading and measuring of the gap to beeffected faster and in a more accurate manner than with any other sparkplug gap tool.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a spark plug gap toolwhich will have long life, as accurate as a micrometer and will not harmthe spark plug.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a spark plug gap tool thatspreads and gauges the gap of the spark plug, having the above objectsin mind, which is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture,has no moving parts, easy to use, automatic, efficient and effective 1nuse.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingd-rawing, in which- FIGURE l is a top plan view of the spark gap toolembodying the features of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the tool, and

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the tool being applied to thespark plug to form the gap thereof.

Referring now to the iigures, represents generally the present toolwhich -is made of tool or spring steel and is tempered. This tool ismade from flat stock and while having uniform thickness throughout theprincipal and scale portion 11 thereof, is along one side provided withan inclined thickness gauging and spreading surface portion 12. Thissurface 12 is provided by cutting away the stock material along one sideof the gauge portion leaving a shoulder or ledge 13 against whichinwardly bent electrode 14 of spark plug 15 wi-ll engage. As shown inFIGURE 3, the ledge 15 thus limits the insertion of electrodes 14 and 16to thickness-gauging portion 12. The undersurface of the gauging portionwhich constitutes an extension of the undersurface of the scale willlie, when the tool is being used, upon a central electrode 16. The outeredge adjacent to the inclined spreading and gauging surface is beveledas indicated at 17 to facilitate the insertion of the tool between theelectrodes 14 and 16.

On the gauging portion 11 is a scale giving measurement or gaugingindicia from fifteen thousandths of an inch to forty-live thousandths ofan inch and indicating the thickness of increments of the inclined orgauging portion from the undersurface of the tool. The less thickness isat the outer end of the tool and this thickness increases inwardlytoward a handle or hand grip portion 18 on the oposite end of the tool.

To use the tool, the outer end having the small thick ness is pressedbetween the electrodes 14 and 16 of the spark plug 15, until withoutpressure the tool can be slid no more within the gap of the spark plug.At this point a reading can be taken to determine the width of the gap.lf it is desired to spread the electrode 14 to a greater width for thegap, pressure is lexerted and the tool is slid longitudinally along thegap until the desired width has been made, the inwardly bent electrode14 being bent upwardly and upon removal of the tool a new gap spacing orwidth will have been provided. If the gap width is to be reduced, it canbe done in the usual manL ner by bending downwardly the electrode 14 andthere-r after inserting the tool so as to bring the gap up to thedesired width. For example, the electrode may be lightly tapped by thehandle portion 18 of the tool.

As indicated from the drawings, the tool body has opposed wide sidesurfaces or faces a and b, and a thickness-gauging portion 12 along oneedge of its body between the wide side faces. The portion 12 slopesorinclines or is of progressively increasing thickness therealong from oneend c to an opposite end thereof, and is dened by the wide side face band as offset with respect to the wide side face a. The scale portionl11 lies on or along one side face a and between it and the side face band defines a ledge portion 13 with and along the gauging portion 12.The ledge portion 13, as shown in FIGURE 3, serves as a limit stop forthe end of the electrode 14 of the spark plug 15 being :gauged as to itsgap with the electrode 16. As shown, the portions .11, V12 and 13 extendalong the tool body and between one edge or end c and towards anopposite end portion 18 thereof which serves as the handle or gripportion. Also as shown, the portion 18 extends between one end of thescale portion 11 and an opposite end d of the tool body and thus, theportion y18 lies adjacent the portion 11. The portion 18, as disclosed,lies between and may extend on its opposite wide sides beyond the wideside faces a and b. l

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a single tool,one with which the spark gap Width may be readily determined and also inthe same operation the gap may be increased. It should also be apparentthat there has been provided a tool which is strong and will have longlife and is as accurate as a micrometer gauge. It also can be seen thatthe use of the tool will not harm the spark plug. If desired theinclined surface may be rounded transversely to give it a wire surfaceshape and cut down friction or drag when spreading the gap. Suchcurvature need only be slight for effective operation, and for the sakeof clarity, has not been indicated on the drawing. This will make thetool still easier to use.

Various modifications in the form and construction of the tool mayobviously be resorted to, all without departing from the spirit of theinvention, if within the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A spark gap spreading and gauging tool comprising, an elongated scaleportion of substantially constant thickness having scale indiciatherealong, an inclined portion extending along a side of said scaleportion and having a progressively increasing thickness from one end ofsaid scale portion, a handle secured to the other end of said scaleportion, the thickness of said inclined portion being indicated by theindicia on said scale portion, and said inclined portion being adaptedto engage between the electrodes of a spark plug to determine and adjustthe spark gap width.

2. A spark gap spreading and gauging tool according to claim l, whereinsaid inclined portion is formed with a rounded upper surface and a flatlower surface, said lower surface comprising an extension of the undersurface of said scale portion.

3. A spark gap gauging tool which comprises, an elongated scale portionof substantially uniform section having measurement indicia along a facethereof, an elongated thickness-gauging portion along a side of andintegral with said scale portion and having a progressively increasingthickness from one longitudinal end towards the opposite longitudinalend of said scale portion, a handle portion at the opposite end of saidscale portion,

3 the thickness of said gauging portion being indicated by themeasurement indicia of said scale portion, and said gauging portionbeing constructed for movement between the electrodes of a spark plugand therealong to determine and adjust the width of the gaptherebetween.

4. A spark gap gauging tool which comprises, a tool body having opposedwide side faces, a thickness-gauging portion along an edge of said toolbody Ibetween said wide side faces and having a progresively increasingthickness therealong, a scale portion on one of said wide side faceshaving measurement indicia thereon along said gauging portion, saidscale portion defining a ledge portion with and along saidthickness-gauging portion, a hand grip portion between said opposed wideside faces adjacent said scale portion, the thickness of increments ofsaid gauging portion being indicated by the measurement indicia of saidscale portion, said gauging portion being constructed for movementbetween the electrodes of a spark plug and therealong to determine andadjust the width of the gap therebetween as indicated by the measurementindicia on said scale portion, and said ledge portion limiting theinsertion of electrodes of the spark plug to said gauging portion,

5. A spark gapl gauging tool as defined in claim 4 wherein said scaleportion is of substantially uniform `thickness between said wide sidefaces and is integral with said gauging portion.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,837,556 Le Blond Dec. 22, 1931 2,492,380 Duma Dec. 27, 1949 2,579,386Koenig Dec. 18, 1951 2,664,638 Storey Ian. 5, 1954 2,882,605 FrauenholtzApr. 2l, 1959

